9.27.2014

Making Some Changes

I know I’m behind in Mads monthly updates… she’s 14 months old and so completely adorable and BUSY!  This means mommy is busier too of course.  Part of me wants to keep this blog updated but part of me is ready to move on. 
I originally started Butterfly Lights to process my thoughts as I went through thyroid cancer.  This year marks 5 years cancer free.  It’s a significant point for any survivor to be sure. This place helped me process my emotions these 5 years and has always been a more personal, diary-type space for me.  But 5 years cancer free means the original motivation for this space isn’t on the forefront of my mind.  My focus and priorities have changed drastically over this time. There are still thoughts I could write but I feel like the focus of the blog has become muddled and so I’m taking a break from this space.
I am starting fresh with new focus and passions in a completely new place.  This new blog will be about our family journey to get out of debt, family life, frugal living, recipes, crafts and general mom life.  Introducing….baby wee header 2
It’s new and small but I hope that Pecans & Magnolias will grow and evolve as our family does.  So come on over and follow the Wee family as we find our way!  You can also check us out on Facebook.  I would love to have you as a new reader over there and hope you will stick around for the occasional post here.
All my love…
C

5.15.2014

{Belated} Birthday Update: 9 Months

ninemonthsBirth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
6 month Deets: 16lbs 7oz, 26.5 inches
Height: 28 inches 
Weight: 17lbs 7 oz
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, babydoll, Little Baby Wee, Silly Wee, Mads, Knot Head

~~ Apologies for the picture heavy post – we had a busy month!~~

Exciting Events: Aside from her little stint in the hospital, Mid March to Mid April was pretty busy!  The weather was nicer and we’ve been spending more and more time outside.  She loves to ride in the wagon at Granny’s house and to get pushed in the swings.  Maddie made DSC04798her second road trip to Michigan and we discovered she still really hates driving at night!  But even though the trip was long and stressful, it was worth being there for Great Grandpa’s 90th birthday (which also happened to be Maddie’s 9 month birthday!).  She also celebrated Mommy’s birthday and Auntie Katie’s birthday with her first trip to a Japanese steakhouse, Shang Hai Ichiban.  I’m sure it won’t be her last!  funwarmShe loves sharing Mommy & Daddy’s meals and has tried a little bit of everything it seems!  Some of DSC04800her new favorite foods include: Vietnamese pho, soba noodles, guacamole, black beans and the Southern breakfast standards of scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy!  While DSC04914in Michigan we also visited a butterfly exhibit at Meijer Gardens, celebrated Easter and went on an Easter egg hunt, and went to a petting zoo called The Critter Barn.  Mads is really becoming an animal lover.  She still loves our cat but has also made friends with the neighbor’s horse as well as a few dogs in the area. She even loves the ants and bees in our yard which makes Mommy a nervous wreck! Ants seem to look like a yummy food source at the moment and bees.. .well I think their lazy buzzing just has her fascinated in general.  hospitalPossibly the most exciting news is that Maddie’s spasms have nearly completely vanished!  It is really an answer to prayers and our baby girl has been deemed completely healthy by her neurologist!
What She Does: Well it’s been an exciting month of developments in this area too!  DSC00388In addition to pulling herself up to a standing position, Maddie decided that standing without help was no big deal at all!  She hasn’t tried to take any steps without holding on to something or someone though. DSC00380 She also started crawling backward a bit but mostly still rolls to her desired location. Her mouth is full of… NO TEETH!  Yup, she’s still just got pink little gums so I think she’s taking after Mommy and won’t get her teeth until closer to her first birthday!  She says “mom” and “dad” and “yeah”… she also shocked her pediatrician when she said “bye” and waved goodbye as our appointment ended!  She loves to wave at people as they leave but has become a bit more shy around strangers.  These days she’s more likely to bury her head in Mommy’s shoulder than to grace them with her toothy little grin.

4.09.2014

Myonical Bionical

Sooo…. We had a bit of a scare here recently… 

Miss Maddie-Me has been hitting all her milestones just peachy but about a week and a half ago I noticed she would do something odd.  At random moments her arms would stiffen and shoot out into the air or her whole body would stiffen and jerk back.  It just wasn’t “normal” looking behavior and had us concerned enough to try to catch it on video to show to our doctor.  We had our doctor and another doctor look at it and while there was a range of possible diagnoses, the one that kept coming up was “infantile spasms.” 

If you aren’t familiar with the term “infantile spasms,” you might be shocked at just how serious this seemingly innocuous sounding problem really is.  We took to Google and were subsequently terrified at what we might possibly be facing.

Our next step was to get an EEG for Little Miss so we waited for the call from scheduling.  Meanwhile, it was the weekend, and Maddie had an episode that lasted far longer than before and mads erseemed to be having many more than her “usual.”  We made the decision to drive to our nearest children’s hospital ER that had pediatric neurology services.

We arrived to the busy ER about 2.5 hours away and were in a room and seeing the doctor within 30 minutes. Again, we were told we needed an EEG and they could perform one and have a neurologist see us the next morning… so that’s how Miss Maddie’s first hospital stay was20140406_213311 written in the books.

Our EEG was in the morning – it was a traumatic experience for all involved - and we nervously awaited the results.  The neurologist came to see us and the first thing he said was “Her EEG was completely NORMAL.”  I think our first words were “Thank GOD!”  Or at least that’s what I said in my head… He went on to then say he wasn’t exactly sure what we are dealing with but that he is pretty sure it wasn’t in the epilepsy family.  Of course since Mads didn’t have any spasms during the procedure its hard to tell exactly what happens but the “hypsarrythmia” in “infantile spasms” would have shown up if she had that.  Our differential diagnoses currently are: Benign Myoclonus of Early Infancy or Sterotypies.  We think the myoclonus description sounds exactly like what she does. 

So what’s the plan of action?  We have to log any events she has and possibly capture more video and return to the neurologist in May.  Depending on how things are at that point, we might have a 24 hour video EEG ordered. If we notice any regression in her developmental milestones or progression in the severity of her episodes we have to call much sooner.

We would appreciate all your thoughts and prayers as we work to figure out exactly what is going on with our precious little girl!

3.24.2014

{Belated} Birthday Update: Eight Months!

eightmonthsBirth Deets: 21.5in, 8lbs 12oz 
6 month Deets: 16lbs 7oz, 26.5 inches
Height: no appt this month
Weight: no appt this month… was 17lb 3oz at a sick visit
Nicknames: Maddie, Miss Me, babydoll, Little Baby Wee, Silly Wee, Mads
Exciting Events: Mid February to mid March wasn’t particularly exciting as winter raged on and rainbowwe stayed in out of the cold.  Maddie also caught quite a bad cold and proceeded to share it with mommy, daddy and grandma and grandpa H!  Hey… at least we are teaching her to share from a young age?  We did celebrate our very first Saint Patrick’s Day… Miss Maddie is definitely our little pot of gold!  And we had visitors from Michigan!  We did a little sight seeing with them as things started to thaw out around here a bit.  Mads even did her first stint on the AT! visitThis month she tried toast and a few other big people foods straight from the table.  She loves sharing mommy’s oatmeal in the mornings.  We’ve also started Maddie/Mommy time where we spend some time playing and watching a movie (mostly mommy watching a movie and playing with Maddie) but just spending time with “us girls” while daddy gets to watch sports or play a video game or two. One of Maddie’s favorite things in the world is the cat – Tills. She will pull on his tail or his ear or just handfuls of his fur and he just takes it all in stride. She sometimes will be so excited to see him that she will barely touch his fur before bursting into a huge grin and giggles. breakfast
What She Does: Maddie can pull herself up to a standing position like its no big deal. Yup, been doing this forever mom!  She doesn’t crawl but will roll or fall forward to get to what she wants.  I think she’s planning to just skip that whole crawling thing and will be walking soon enough! She is already getting good at walking from one place to another while holding on to someone’s hands. She still has no teeth but that doesn’t stop her from gnawing on her toast!  She says “Mom” all.the.time.  Like literally it’s the only thing she says 24-7. Except when she is baby rapping… still hoping to catch that on video because its hilarious. She’s recently picked up on waving and will sometimes display this new knowledge if you are lucky.  And mommy’s favorite new skill… the head hugs!  When Maddie gets super excited to be with you she will press her little noggin against yours really hard and rub it back and forth with a smile on her face. Sometimes she adds grabbing your ears to pull you closer or noshing on your nose for good measure.  Its quite possibly the cutest thing ever! <3month 8

3.14.2014

Comparison Shot

Lots of people say Miss M looks like her mommy so I wanted to do a little comparison shot for y’all! comparison shot

Yes, we are both little cue balls… mommy didn’t have hair until she was a year!  Both have blue eyes and little ears that stick out.  But I think little miss definitely is the cuter of the two baby shots…I may just be a *bit* partial though! 

Happy Friday everyone!
(ps… anyone else notice the scary doll I was playing with?!?)